WinterDeere
Elite Member
Howdy folks,
I'm shopping a new tractor, an upgrade and replacement to my faithful old 855, and looking at the largest 2R and smallest 3R offerings from Deere. Looking for opinions from anyone who has had or owned both.
My uses are:
1. Spreading seed and fertilizer on my lawn (4 acres).
2. Skidding logs off of my firewood trailer (all < 5000 lb., most actually < 1000 lb.)
3. Moving 40 yards of mulch each spring.
4. Moving firewood around my wood lot.
5. Occasionally skidding logs out of the woods to my trailer.
6. Moving various things like firewood sheds or chicken coops about the property.
7. Harvesting walnuts every fall with some small walnut harvesters.
8. Moving snow with loader and snowblower (currently Woods SB-64S)
9. Occasionally brush-hogging trails in the woods (currently Woods 48")
My 855 actually does most of this pretty well, with the following exceptions:
1. I could use more PTO horsepower for the snowblower, it bogs in deeper snow.
2. I could use a larger bucket for both mulch and snow
3. I could use more weight for steering when plowing with the loader.
The machines I'm considering:
2032R
2038R
3033R
The 2R's should do 99% of what I need, they outclass my old 855 in every way. But two things have me considering the 3033R:
1. Better stability when skidding the heaviest logs off my firewood trailer, I've had some frightening pulls with the 855.
2. Better weight and stability with all loader work, which has me even more concerned as my kids get older and may start using the machine.
Ignoring price, the main disadvantages of the 3033R, as I see them are:
1. Taller, might be an issue under trees when using to spread seed, fertilizer, and harvesting walnuts. My 855 ROP's already hangs up on things, and my head will now be at that height on the 3033R.
2. Larger footprint in my already-tight shed.
3. Heavier, may be more an issue for lawn use.
4. Ergonomics, I really do like the loader visibility better on the 2R's, and find the SCV control lever on the 3R's to be a nuisance for getting on and off the machine from one side.
Disadvantages of the 2R's are obvious:
1. Lighter
2. Smaller
3. Less capacity
4. Stupid location of diff lock pedal where you're probably going to step on 4wd lever when trying to use it.
The 2R's are obviously a little less expensive, but machine, fuel, and maintenance costs are not a primary consideration. They're not far enough apart in cost for that to matter much.
Thoughts?
I'm shopping a new tractor, an upgrade and replacement to my faithful old 855, and looking at the largest 2R and smallest 3R offerings from Deere. Looking for opinions from anyone who has had or owned both.
My uses are:
1. Spreading seed and fertilizer on my lawn (4 acres).
2. Skidding logs off of my firewood trailer (all < 5000 lb., most actually < 1000 lb.)
3. Moving 40 yards of mulch each spring.
4. Moving firewood around my wood lot.
5. Occasionally skidding logs out of the woods to my trailer.
6. Moving various things like firewood sheds or chicken coops about the property.
7. Harvesting walnuts every fall with some small walnut harvesters.
8. Moving snow with loader and snowblower (currently Woods SB-64S)
9. Occasionally brush-hogging trails in the woods (currently Woods 48")
My 855 actually does most of this pretty well, with the following exceptions:
1. I could use more PTO horsepower for the snowblower, it bogs in deeper snow.
2. I could use a larger bucket for both mulch and snow
3. I could use more weight for steering when plowing with the loader.
The machines I'm considering:
2032R
2038R
3033R
The 2R's should do 99% of what I need, they outclass my old 855 in every way. But two things have me considering the 3033R:
1. Better stability when skidding the heaviest logs off my firewood trailer, I've had some frightening pulls with the 855.
2. Better weight and stability with all loader work, which has me even more concerned as my kids get older and may start using the machine.
Ignoring price, the main disadvantages of the 3033R, as I see them are:
1. Taller, might be an issue under trees when using to spread seed, fertilizer, and harvesting walnuts. My 855 ROP's already hangs up on things, and my head will now be at that height on the 3033R.
2. Larger footprint in my already-tight shed.
3. Heavier, may be more an issue for lawn use.
4. Ergonomics, I really do like the loader visibility better on the 2R's, and find the SCV control lever on the 3R's to be a nuisance for getting on and off the machine from one side.
Disadvantages of the 2R's are obvious:
1. Lighter
2. Smaller
3. Less capacity
4. Stupid location of diff lock pedal where you're probably going to step on 4wd lever when trying to use it.
The 2R's are obviously a little less expensive, but machine, fuel, and maintenance costs are not a primary consideration. They're not far enough apart in cost for that to matter much.
Thoughts?
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